Down a Silver Stream
by fishoom
Summary: He deserved her death as punishment for betraying his clan. But this, this was beyond a punishment. No one would ever deserve this. This was death itself. oneshot GraystripexSilverstream


**This is really old. Don't read this.**

**Spoilers, but most of you have moved on to the new series or something. I haven't been into the Warriors fandom in years. :P**

**'T' for angst and character!death(s)**

**Review if you want. Concrit isn't necessary... my writing isn't like this anymore.**

**Down a Silver Stream**

The pads of his paws pressed deep into the damp riverbank, the usual dried earth now drowned with slimey water. Face twisted into a mournful expression, his usual bright golden eyes were clouded over with lament. The wind was thick and unmoving, all was silent with the exception of the quiet trickling of water in the stream.

Heavy depression in Graystripe's mind seemed to weigh him down. Looking toward the previously dug earth beneath him, he shuddered with a sob. How many times had he been here? Still crying every time he came, he was drowning in his own pity.

StarClan had done this to him for a reason, for seeing someone of another Clan. Always, he blamed himself for Silverstream's death, it had been StarClan's decision after all. It was punishment for _him_ seeing someone from another Clan - not to mention that he _impregnated_ her. It was punishment for him to betray his own Clan, to move to another that only resented him, to have kits with no mother to look after them, and to leave them with a failure of a father that could never get over their partner's death.

He had no one to go to anymore. All of his Clan held an absolute grudge against him, with very few exceptions. When he had first sought to have RiverClan accept him as one of their own, he always had glares and rude comments from the Clan members, so he found refuge here at Silverstream's grave. It was always so silent, no one could disturb him in his sanctuary. He also liked that he was closer to ThunderClan camp, where he had an unceasing feeling that Fireheart would peer out from behind a tree, and he could finally have a conversation with him in peace.

How he wished Fireheart to be by his side once again, his warm body pressed against him, giving him a playful lick... A purr gently erupted from his throat at the thought of his old friend, then another wave of sadness. He hadn't seen Fireheart for about a week since the gathering and already missed him.

He let out an exasperated sigh. He wasn't getting much sleep lately, thinking about Silverstream constantly. Deciding it was about time to leave before he got even more depressed, he sent a prayer out to StarClan for his beloved. He dipped his head towards her grave.

_Silverstream... Why can I not get over your death? I can never stay a minute alone without thinking of you. I have never missed someone as much as I have of you. It's my fault you died, I'm so sorry_, he stopped to exhale a shakey breath, glossy tears gathering at the bottoms of his eyes.

"I love you so much!" he cried aloud in a tear driven voice. He let the tears flow, one by one they fell onto her grave, the mossy earth soaking in each and every one. He took a deep breath, dampened his paw with his tongue and began to wash the tears off of his face.

As he turned tail to leave, the wind picked up ever so slightly. In the most faint, inaudible sound a cat could ever hear, Graystripe heard a shy voice, among the whispering of the breeze,

_'I love you too...'_

After Graystripe shook off the ominous feeling of that somewhat creepy voice, he had finally gotten to sleep. When he awoke, as where he was, the warriors den where everyone seemed to have a ten foot radius from him as usual, he heard the soft breathing of sleeping cats. Opening his golden eyes, now bright without the remembrance of _her_, the reeds around him twitched as he arched his back into a stretch.

"G'mornin'," one of the few cats that had no resentment towards him greeted him from the dreamworld. He mewed in reply and sluggishly padded out of the den and into the bright sunlight.

Followed by glares from his 'fellow' clanmates, he decided to do a little hunting since he had nothing better to do for the day. He scanned the mossy area for his deputy and caught sight of her assigning the Dawn Patrol.

"Leopardfur," he addressed her hoping that she wouldn't be as rude as last time. She was against Graystripes entering of RiverClan from the start.

"Graystripe," there was a hint of a sneer in her voice, "I just assigned the Dawn Patrol... Why don't you go down to the river for some hunting?" Graystripe could see a smirk form on the face of his superior. "But make sure you don't drown!" The deputy chuckled at this and turned to another cat and ordered them for another job. He really didn't like Leopardfur, but was glad she assigned him for hunting. Even if it was just to get rid of him, or to state a poorly planned joke, if he ever asked to do something, Leopardfur would make him do the exact opposite.

Not bothering to dip his head to her, as she was in complete ignorance to Graystripe's being or what felt like, he fled to the river.

Graystripe still wasn't quite used to the water yet. He still flinched when it touched him, and he hated the feeling of all of his fur sticking to his body. It made him feel naked in a way. The banks weren't as moist as they were the day before but his paws still sunk into the earth and caught grit in his toenails. He just _hated_ cleaning them out every night, it tasted so awful!

Dipping his front paw into the chilled water, his ears shyed backwards at the unpleasant sensation of wetness. In went the remaining three paws and in order to get used to the water, he waded down the stream in oppose to the river's current. He decided to have a bit of fun because he certainly wasn't longing for a good load of jokes tossed at him by the Clan so he splashed around, scaring off all the possibilities of ever catching a fish in his current area.

After a few minutes of crashing waves of water, they came to a swift hault. Graystripe had arrived in the river where Silverstream's grave was. Although he was on the opposite side of the river as it, he could still see the smooth grey stone posed at the mark of the grave. But something was different. Something was _wrong._

All of his hair would have stood on end, dispite the fact that they where cemented to his body from the water rushing past him in pulsing currents. Panicing, he pierced his claws deep into the underwater muck and heaved his body across the river.

Successfully on the other side, he scrambled over a few loose rocks and slid into the mud. Why was it so muddy on this side when it was so dry on the other? Now his entire underside was plastered in a thick dark coating of mud. He struggled to get back up and once he took another step ahead, it plunged into pure air. He fell head-first into even more sludge. He nearly gagged when he got a bit into his mouth. Frustrated, he wildly climbed through the mud to arrive at Silverstream's grave.

_No._

That was all he thought. _Please no._ Something was wrong. Very, _very_ wrong.

Where the original, peaceful grave once stood, was a deep sloppy area of overturned earth. Inhaling lengthy breaths in order to find who could possibly do this, he caught nothing but the scent of... rotting corpse. The stench was so strong, any animal's smell would be washed away in a matter of minutes. Gawking at the sight, he slowly trudged through the mud to stand over it. The grave was dug a little under two feet deep, and here it was the same distance. Peeping deeper into the pit, he caught glimpse of a good clump of beautiful silver fur, unattached to its owner and dirtied a bit from the sludge.

"No..." he wimpered in an unheard voice. He shuddered, now sobbing, his head held low to the ground. He looked up with tear filled eyes to scan the forest for any sign of the bastard that had done this to the only person he loved. Dead or not, she was still loved as much as if she were alive to Graystripe, and nothing or no one would be able to change his mind.

What now? There was absolutely nothing he could do,

There was nothing to live for. No! There was something to live for. His kits needed a father, Fireheart needed his best friend... His sanity was getting ripped in two inside to out. Was he actually thinking of... No, he couldn't think of that. A gear shifted in Graystripe's mind. Silverstream had gotten replaced so simply. Wouldn't he, too get replaced just as easily?It was as if her life didn't matter at all. The world continued turning after she died, the sun rose and set. One life doesn't mean a thing.

All he wanted was to be with her... and there was only one way to do that.

Letting out a cry of anguish, he spun around and slid out of the grime into the silver water with a splash. The current washed the muck off his fur and left a cape of dirty trailing water behind him. Tears flowing off his face hit the water and made tiny ripples.

"Welcome me, Starclan!" he called to the heavens as he dunked his head into the silver water. Breathing in the water, he jerked his head out of the water spraying it in all directions. Gasping for breath, he legs felt suddenly limp. They gave out, and the water rushed into his face and soon everything was dark. The strong current swept his body down the river. He made his journey to StarClan down a silver stream. Just like the name of the only cat he loved...

_'Silverstream, I'm here for you now.'_


End file.
